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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Mayans and the Jewish Midrash

The biblical Enoch was the son of Yered who was the great great grandson of Seth, a son of Adam. Enoch lived 365 years, from 622 to 987 on the Jewish calendar. The beginning of the long count Mayan calendar is taken to be in August of the year 3114 BCE, [-3113]. This corresponds to the year 647 on the Jewish calendar. After the Rosh HaShanah holiday in the year 3114 BCE, the year on the Jewish calendar would be 646. From these dates, we can infer that the beginning of the Mayan calendar occurs during the life of Enoch.

According to the Midrash in Seder Hadorot, [Vol 1, p. 89], Enoch served God and despised the wicked people of his generation. He separated from them and hid himself away. One day when he was praying, an angel of God spoke to him telling him to go out from his house and teach the people about the ways of God and the correct ways to live.

In the book Sefer Hayashar, we read about Enoch:

He gathered people around him and taught them about God. Word was sent around everywhere announcing that whoever wanted to know the ways of God and the good life should come to Enoch for instruction. Hungry for the truth, people eagerly gathered around him and he taught them the wisdom of God. Thus the people served God all the lifetime of Enoch. Rulers, princes, and judges, all came to hear him. He was loved and respected so much that three hundred rulers proclaimed him king over them. With gentle persuasion he was able to establish peaceful relations between all these rulers. He reigned for two hundred and forty-three years guiding all people in the ways of God.

Seder Hadorot tells that Enoch was the first one to write a book on astronomy. In the pseudepigraph Book of Enoch, a compilation of books detailing the experiences, the prophecies, and teachings of Enoch, there is a book entitled The courses of the Heavenly Luminaries. This is chapters 72 through 82 of the Book of Enoch, and they are devoted to describing the changing times for the rising and the setting of the sun through the solar year, the waxing and waning of the moon through the lunar month and year.

The ancient Greeks identified Enoch with Hermes Trismegistus. The Greeks wrote that Enoch taught the sons of men the art of building cities, the knowledge of the Zodiac, and the course of the Planets. We also find Enoch's association with astronomy and arithmetic in Sefer Yuhasin. In the Book of Jubilees, Enoch was the inventor of the art of writing. This is also so according to Masonic lore. The correlation of these accomplishments of Enoch and the meaning of the term Maya in different cultures is immediately apparent and surely not a coincidence.

The Midrash explains how Enoch obtained his knowledge. In The Zohar, Rabbi Aba said,
A book was sent down to Adam through which he discerned and comprehended the supernal wisdom. [This is the book of The Generations Of Adam.] This book later came into the hands of the sons of Elohim, the sages of their generation, who were priviledged to learn from it and to glean the supernal wisdom. They grasped it and comprehended it. This book was brought down by the guardian of the secrets who is the angel Raziel and was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Three guardian angels went before him and guarded the book so that the external forces would not have access to it.

When Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden, he still held on to the book. Yet as he stepped out, the book flew away from him. He prayed and cried out to his Master, and the book was returned to him again so that this wisdom would not be forgotten and the people would endeavor to attain knowledge of their Master.

We have been told that Enoch had a book, which originated from the same place as that of the Generations of Adam. And this book contains the inner secrets of wisdom.

14 comments:

Since there was a flood after the first 10 generations in the year 1656, how did this information get passed down, to become the Mayan culture? The answer is a decedent of Noach's son Shem was Yoktan (Shem's son was Arpachshad whose son was Shelah whose son was Eber whose son was Peleg whose son was Yoktan). Yoktan and his children were 14 of the 70 nations to spread throughout the world (probably central and South America even though I have not been able to verify that as fact). Yoktan settled on a peninsula that is today improperly pronounced the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico where the Mayan culture developed. It is through Yoktan that the information was passed down.

Will all due respect, Menachem, if you claimed that the earth was flat you would be on more solid ground.

Had you picked anyone else in the generations spanning from the Flood until Tower of Babel you would have been entitled to your speculations. After all, being that we know next to nothing about most of these people who could argue with you?

But in choosing Yoktan, you picked someone that we do know something about, and we know a lot.

The entire Arab nation testifies that Yoktan is the progenitor of most of the population of the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula. Every book on Arab history worthy of the name records this fact and NO ONE, not even the Arabs who claim descent through Yishmael, disputes this.

I would like to take credit for what I said about Yoktan; but, it comes from Rav Glazerson's book "The Mayan Culture and Judaism." If Rav Glazerson is incorrect, you should notify him about the correction. If you don't like that explanation, do you have any facts about how the information that came from Chanuch made its way to the Yucatan Peninsula? I would love to know.

Well, we certainly can trust the writings of the Arabs, LOL. They rewrote the history of Israel and the Jewish people so we might as well go along with their beliefs about Yoktan. If you do believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

You are totally correct that Yoktan is Peleg's brother. I was thrown off by the chart in the Artscroll Stone Chumash, page 47 that shows Yoktan under Peleg instead of beside him. When I read the verse 10:25 telling of the children of Eber I saw the error of my ways. I humbly apologize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkdtCWEtEZoDevorah, in this video rabbi Glazerson shows to us that rabbi Amnon Itchak will either bring Mashiach or will be Mashiach himself. Oh my G-d! It's happening! Elana.

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